About the Shutesbury Cultural Council
The mission of the Shutesbury Cultural Council is to promote excellence, education, diversity, and inclusion in the arts, humanities, and sciences in order to foster a rich cultural life for all Shutesbury residents. Since 1998, the Shutesbury Cultural Council has awarded $110,559 in grant funding for 319 arts, humanities, and science programs and projects in the community.
Each year, the Shutesbury Cultural Council awards grant funding to practitioners, artists, educators, and organizations who serve the arts, humanities, and science needs of the Shutesbury community. For FY2023, the Shutesbury Cultural Council awarded over $5,500 for a wide range of programming, including performances, classes, workshops, publications, and more.
In Massachusetts, public funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences is provided through the Mass Cultural Council (MCC), which distributes state funding to Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) that award grants in accordance with MCC's Program Guidelines and the LCC's own Council Priorities. Local property tax revenue is not used toward Shutesbury Cultural Council grant funding.
Council members are appointed by the Selectboard and can serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms of three years each. They are responsible for making decisions on how to award the money granted to the Council by the MCC - plus funds raised in other ways - to support projects that will best serve local cultural needs. Council members should have a demonstrated interest or record of service to the arts, humanities, or sciences.
Grants from the Shutesbury Cultural Council are reimbursement-based and are typically in the $200-$500 range.
Applying for Cultural Council Funding
Applicants for grants from the Shutesbury Cultural Council should familiarize themselves with the Council Priorities before preparing their application.
The application form and deadline for FY2025 are now available.
Key Dates:
Application opens: September 1, 2024
Application deadline: October 16, 2024
All applications must be submitted through the MCC's Application Portal. Applications may not be submitted by mail or email.
Community Input
The Shutesbury Cultural Council is collecting opinions to help us set our funding priorities over the next few years. Please take a moment to complete this confidential survey: https://forms.gle/gU82pyvV5gnjxoBTA
More Information
To see projects awarded Council funding for this fiscal year, visit the MCC's Shutesbury Cultural Council report page.
To contact the Council with questions, including questions about applying for a grant or about past grants, email culture@shutesbury.org.